EFFector Vol. 21, No. 18 June 6, 2008 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 471st issue: * ACTION ALERT: ASK YOUR SENATOR ABOUT ACTA. Disturbingly little information has been made publicly available about a wide-ranging intellectual property enforcement treaty, known as ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). The trickle of information available points to a select group of industrialized countries negotiating an elevated standard of intellectual property enforcement, which stands to impact innovation, commerce, and technology users' privacy and civil liberties. With so much potentially at stake, the lack of transparency is cause for concern. Contact your Senator -- urge him or her to shed some sunlight on the contents of ACTA and to give citizens an opportunity for meaningful consultation. http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=383 * EFF IS SAFEGUARDING FREE SPEECH in Cook County, Illinois, where town officials are seeking the identity of the author of two "spoof" MySpace profiles criticizing the town president. EFF Senior Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman explains: "The First Amendment requires courts to guard against attempts to unmask critics who have simply made statements litigants don't like, especially when such requests are made by elected officials." http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/06/05 * IN FISA NEWS, House leaders have been discussing a terrible Republican proposal that would direct the secret FISA court to grant immunity to telecoms that participated in the NSA's illegal warrantless wiretapping program, so long as they received a piece of paper saying that the President authorized the surveillance. This proposal is even *worse* than the immunity scheme that the House has already rejected, so please act today to remind your Representative to stand firm and say no to retroactive immunity. http://www.stopthespying.org * EFF HAS FOUGHT FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY for quite some time now, though the effort has been distributed throughout a number of disparate projects. To make our efforts more clear, we have created a "one-stop shop" for our work in promoting transparency and accountability for government and corporate entities. Check it out! http://www.eff.org/issues/transparency : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Prince Issues One Takedown Too Many Another thorny example of the DMCA's speech-squelching ability: Prince issued a DMCA takedown notice for a video of his live performance of a Radiohead song, but copyright-holder Radiohead wants the video to remain available. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/06/prince-issues-one-takedown-too-many * Spying Telecoms Receive Billions in Government Contracts Telecom immunity proponents often suggest that the communications companies' participation in warrantless surveillance was not financially motivated -- but recent figures and corporate testimony hint at a more complex reality. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/06/spying-telecoms-receive-billions * Freedom Not Fear: Europe's Growing Protest Against Net Surveillance Orwellian EU data retention directives are causing a swell of resistance across Europe. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/freedom-not-fear * Computer Crime Laws Chill Discovery of Customer Privacy Threats The poorly-constructed definition of "authorization" in computer crime law creates serious problems for security researchers. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/computer-crime-laws-chill-discovery-customer-priva * Watching the Detectors Help EFF uncover what is really happening with the digital TV copy-controls that kept Vista Media Center users from recording over-the-air NBC shows. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/watch-tv * Orphan Works Update: Is the Legislation Fair to Copyright Holders? Contentious orphan works legislation continues to inspire thoughtful, lively debate. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/orphan-works-update-legislation-fair-copyright-hol * B-24 Liberated! After EFF's open letter to Lockheed Martin responding to a trademark infringement claim, images of the "B-24" bomber will be rightfully reposted to TurboSquid. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/b-24-liberated * If It Looks Like a Duck . . . Seattle Judge Finds Software Was Sold, Not Licensed In a major victory for consumers' rights, a federal district judge has firmly rejected software vendor AutoDesk's claim that its license agreement restricts its customers from re-selling the software they lawfully purchased. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/if-it-looks-duck-seattle-judge-finds-software-was- * McCain Not Giving Straight Talk on Warrantless Wiretapping An advisor to Senator McCain recently voiced absolute support for warrantless wiretapping, although the Senator previously 1) has rejected the Bush Administration's legal rationale for the warrantless surveillance program, 2) has sympathized with the millions of innocent Americans caught up in the NSA spying, and 3) has opined that the Courts should have the chance to determine whether the law was broken. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/john-mccain-straight-talk-wiretapping : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF at RoboGames Can't get enough extreme robot action? Neither can we! EFF will be at the 2008 RoboGames at Fort Mason in San Francisco on June 13-15: http://www.eff.org/calendar/2008/06/12/eff-robogames * Music Benefit for EFF in San Francisco on Wednesday, June 18th http://www.eff.org/calendar/2008/06/18/sf-wiretap-music-benefit-eff * EFF at Personal Democracy Forum 2008 Visit EFF at Personal Democracy Forum 2008 in New York City on June 23-24, 2008. http://www.eff.org/calendar/2008/06/23/eff-personal-democracy-forum-2008 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks The week's noteworthy news, compressed. ~ Obama Should Lead on FISA A CBS News Blogger has some advice for the presumptive nominee: Get to work protecting civil liberties! http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/04/politics/animal/main4154987.shtml ~ FTC Investigates Big Brother The practice of compiling profiles on Internet users for purposes of targeted advertising is coming under scrutiny. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/21/AR2008052102989.html ~ Will Flame Wars Be Made Illegal? A proposed federal statute would make it a crime to transmit communications with the intent to cause "substantial emotional distress." http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_06_01-2008_06_07.shtml#1212694919 For more miniLinks: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/06/minilinks : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/about Editor: Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist richard@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Back issues of EFFector are available at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
